One day, 10 medals: Team Solomon Islands impress in Sol2023 bodybuilding
Hosts Solomon Islands all but dominated the Sol2023 Pacific Games bodybuilding event at Maranatha Hall on Monday with an overwhelming 10 medals won – three of them gold.
After a great start to Sol2023 with its weightlifting team led by local lron lady, Jenly Tegu Wini, the host nation had somewhat hushed down on the medal tally.
However, that all changed at the single-day event of bodybuilding, with Solomon Islands athletes scooping 10 medals from the 13-event competition. Another three would have given the hosts a clean sweep medal haul in the event – the first major international bodybuilding competition to be held in the country.
Bodybuilding returned to the Pacific Games in Honiara for only its third appearance, having been contested at Noumea 2011 (New Caledonia) and Port Moresby 2015 (Papua New Guinea) but not at the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.
This year’s competition had a total 13 event categories with medals up for grabs.
Team Solomons replicated the dominance of 2015 hosts PNG in winning 10 medals across the event. These included three gold, five silver and two bronze.
Team Solomons medal winners included:
Gold medallists:
- Tome Kelesi: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 65kg
- Barnabas Waga: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 18kg
- Allen Atai: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 90kg
Silver medallists: - Corina Dettke: Athletic Physique Under 165cm
- Mustafa Rade: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 70kg
- Silas Kiu: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 75kg
- Alpheus Fiuramo: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 85kg
- David Ama: Men’s Bodybuilding Above 100kg
Bronze medallists: - Gud Yu Chen: Model Physique Below 165cm
- Juty Holland: Men’s Bodybuilding Under 100kg
Monday’s medal haul for the hosts sighed some relief for many hometown bodybuilding fanatics – most of all the home support that crowded Maranatha Hall at the event.
Speaking to the Pacific Games News Service, Solomon Islands female bodybuilding silver medallist, Corina Dettki conceded that despite not having enough time to prepare and this being her first Pacific Games appearance, she was happy to have won a medal for the country.
“This is the first Pacific Games that I and most of the team have competed in. We didn’t have the best of preparations – I wish we had more time but it’s ok! We just had to work with what we have, learn from our mistakes and work hard towards the next Pacific Games in Tahiti.”
The local bodybuilders’ victory on Monday will go down in Solomon Islands history as the day Team Solomons changed its course and motivation toward delivering the medal target set before them at this year’s Games.
The bodybuilding medal achievement has again brought a nation together, uniting in a common goal – to see Solomon Islands win more medals than it has at any previous Pacific Games.
Meanwhile also scooping medals at bodybuilding were:
- PNG, 5 medals (3 golds, 2 silvers)
- Tahiti, 5 medals (1 gold, 3 silvers, 1 bronze)
- Samoa, 5 medals (3 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- New Caledonia 4 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- Northern Mariana Islands 2 medals (1 gold, 1 bronze)
- American Samoa (1 bronze)
Pacific Games News Service
